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Friday, August 29, 2014

Farm Fact Friday: A Pig Is A Pig

So now that we have finished with covering what each animal is called, let's talk about the different breeds animals can be!

Just like dogs can be a Labrador or a Chihuahua; cattle, sheep, and pigs can be different breeds too! For the most part, they will be the same size vicinity, unlike that Lab vs Chihuahua, but the breeds are totally different.

So today, since I've already covered cattle, we'll dive right into pigs!

The first breed, that has the highest registration numbers, is the Yorkshire, or York. The York breed is well-known for being great mothers! York's are solid white and have ears that stand upright naturally.
Hog tip: if the breed name ends in "shire" you know it has ears that stand upright. If it doesn't, then it's ears are floppy, or down.

The next breed, also very popular, is the Hampshire. Hamps are known for their muscle!

Hamps are solid black with a white belt right behind their shoulders. Again, it ends in "shire", so it's ears stand straight up.

The next breed is totally different. This solid red hog is called a Duroc, and are known for their growth rate, and also muscling ability.

Now, the next pig, which looks strikingly similar to the York, is called a Landrace. Landrace's are also known for being great mothers! They are also solid white, but this time they have very large ears that hang down over their eyes!

Anyway, these are the most easily recognizable breeds in the hog industry. There are LOTS of others, here is a link to the National Swine Registry explaining these same breeds in a little greater detail.

About Me

Hello everyone! My name is Emily, just a Texas agriculture girl, out to tell the world my agriculture story! America has the worlds safest, most affordable, and most abundant food supply, I hope y'all can see how passionate agriculturalists are about their livelihood. Navigate through the blog to find agriculture stories, random stories about my life, recipes, and how faith in God controls everything I do!